The government is currently calling for submissions on how to modernise the Residential Tenancy Act 1997. Submissions from renters are greatly encouraged to help the government understand the people the Act affects most, and how it affects them.

We understand making a submission can be daunting task, and hope the following FAQs can help you get some clarity about the process.

Submissions close on 12 June 2026.

Who can make a submission?

Anyone who has an interest in or experience with renting in Tasmania can make a submission. This includes people who are currently renting, have rented in the past or would like to rent in future.

Why is it important for your voice to be heard? 

It is really important to raise renters’ perspectives right now!

While we can campaign for change, tell stories and raise issues as we have done for many years, now carries more weight because the government wants to hear from us and has promised to modernise the Residential Tenancy Act.

Currently, we have some of the weakest renter protections in the country.

Many stakeholders including housing providers, real estate businesses and landlords will make submissions.

Therefore, it is important that the government hears the stories of Tasmanians, whose lives are directly impacted by the Act, for example because fixed-term leases mean you have to uproot your life every 12 months, or because excessive rent increases mean you struggle to make ends meet.

What’s in the Discussion Paper?

The Discussion Paper can be accessed here.

The discussion paper lays out topics, that have been recommended for change by the Tenants’ Union of Tasmania, community stakeholders, industry groups, advocacy bodies or service providers, or topics that were agreed to by the National Cabinet’s ‘Better Deal for Renters’.

In each chapter a topic is outlined, including the current situation, issues with the Act and in some cases suggested changes.

Below that is one or more questions to be answered. The government suggests:

“Respondents are encouraged to engage with the questions on its merits, identify practical issues, and provide evidence or examples that may assist the Government in assessing whether reform is needed and, if so, what form it should take.”

Other resources in the discussion paper include: explanations on how to make submissions, some definitions of relevant terms, an overview of all questions in the Appendix and an overview of the recommendations made by the National Cabinet’s ‘Better Deal for Renters’.

What is the “Better Deal for Renters” that is referenced in the Discussion Paper?

In 2023, the National Cabinet (the leaders of each State and Territory as well as the Prime Minister) agreed on a list of measures to strengthen renters’ rights and streamline rental laws across the country. Each State and Territory agreed to implement the measures they had not yet met.

The list of measures, which include a requirement for genuine reasonable grounds for eviction, better practices for survivors of family violence and more effective regulation of short-stay accommodation amongst others, forms part of the Appendix of the Discussion Paper.

How to make a submission?

The starting point for your submission should be the Discussion Paper. It contains questions on many aspects of the Residential Tenancy Act that are currently being reviewed. Find the points you want to talk about.

Write down your opinion and experience.

• You don’t have to be an expert, briefly describe what happened to you.
• How did it affect your life, your family?
• How did you feel?
• What would have made your situation better?

You can submit your submission

• in an online form here;

• email it to this address haveyoursay@justice.tas.gov.au;

• or send it in a letter to this address:

Department of Justice
Office of the Secretary
GPO Box 825
Hobart TAS 7001.

If you want your submission to remain confidential (only accessible to the people who are collating responses to the Discussion Paper) please write ‘confidential’.

Keep it friendly! It will help our cause to improve the Act for renters.

We understand that issues around renting can be stressful, and you should absolutely say that. However, telling your story in a matter-of-fact tone will have greater impact than an abusive tirade about other people or organisations involved.

Submissions that include offensive or defamatory content or identify other people e.g. landlords, real estate agents or neighbours will not be published. If you truly have nothing nice to say about a particular landlord or Real Estate Agency, simply refer to them as ‘the landlord’ or ‘the Real Estate Agency/agent’.

Can I only address one topic in the Discussion Paper?

You can address as many or as few of the questions in the Discussion Paper as you like.

If the experience, you write about only touches one topic that’s fine!

If you have an opinion on several topics, please let the Government know!

If the topic you would like to add doesn’t match any question of the discussion paper, e.g. renting in caravan parks, add it under the open question 9.1.

Will my submission/ details be made public?

The default is yes, submissions will be made public including your name and the submission text itself, but not your contact information like address or email address.

You can ask for submissions to be confidential by writing something like the following into your submission: “I request that my name and story remain confidential, and not be published.”

Can I get help making a submission?

We are happy to assist you with your submission. Send an email to info@tenantstas.org.au, however we do not have capacity to write a submission for you.

Over the next few weeks, we will successively publish our own responses to each question in the discussion paper. You are welcome to borrow from them.

I don’t want to make a submission, but I have a renter experience that needs sharing. What can I do?

Send an email to info@tenantstas.org.au, we intend to include renters’ stories into our responses and are happy to hear your story.